The Crazy Low-Cut Dress

 Hello Readers. My last post was about an ultra-marine dress and this post is too. I really love this color! This dress was 100% silk. I knew I wanted to try and make it into something, I just was not sure what. 

This dress was so pretty but it was the lowest cut dress I have ever had in my life. It was crazy low. It was also completely back less.

 

 I did not even know what to do with all this lack of dress. The fabric was thin and there was no way to wear a bra for some extra coverage. What would my 49 year old mom-of-3 body going to do with this dress? It would not be good that's for sure. 

So... I decided to make a top I could wear with a normal mom bra. (That's who I am. Normal. Simple. Vanilla. It's fine. I'm at peace with it.) This beautiful silk would be sure to make a pretty top. I cut the halter top off the skirt. I was going to use the skirt piece to make a new shirt. (I will get to that halter later.)

I wanted to keep that ruffle at the hem so I cut the skirt of this dress into a loose flowy top with wide shoulder straps. There was not enough fabric to make sleeves. That was OK. Sleeveless silk would be great for summer. I went over the edges with a tiny zigzag stitch to reinforce the ruffle.

The only complicated part was cutting this silk because it was so slippery. I had to cut the lining and the outer layer. Neither layer was cooperative and I may have called it names.

I connected the 2 layers around the neckline and around the armholes. This gave the shirt finished edges all around. Then I connected the shoulders. There was a lot of turning it inside out and then right-side out, back and forth to do the sewing from the inside. 

It was like 2 shirts really. It came together well and I liked how it turned out. It had a nice shorter modern length that was long enough to cover my stomach. And it was so soft and light.

 This top was pretty but I could dress it down with jeans and flats and wear it casually. 

Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself. And if you are wondering about that halter part of the dress, we will get to that project very soon. 

***Chickie's Year End Review-This silk shirt is a favorite. It feels so good to wear and it so light in summer.

Maybe That Dress Should Be A Shirt

Hello Readers. When I am looking for a fun top sometimes the best place to look is at the dresses in my refashion stash. A fun dress can make a really fun top. This striped dress was my daughter's. She cleaned out her closet and I took the hand-me-downs to use in my refashion for free in 2021 plan. Can I go all year without buying anything but thread? (And maybe some needles too.) Sure I can.

This dress fit really close. Let's be honest it was a little tight. But I really liked the brown stripes. I had a plan about what to do with this slightly tight dress. 

 I liked this dress a lot. Check out the buttons on the shoulders. So cute!

The first thing I did was cut the dress into a length that would work as a shirt.  That's right. I just cut it. Those cute stripes made it easy to make an even level cut. 

I was not sure if this sweater would fray or not. I decided to be safe and make a hem on the bottom using a zigzag stitch. The zigzag will allow it to stretch a little. The whole sweater was stretchy, I wanted my new hem to be stretchy too. 

 

I already knew I wanted to wear this new sweater top with my black over-alls. These also came from my daughter. They had a cool elastic finish at the ankles. (On left.) It was cool but I did not like it on me. I cut the elastic off and gave the pant legs a simple hem to finish them. (On right.)

My new fitted shirt was perfect. A loose shirt would not fit well under these over-alls. The fit of this sweater made it stay put and it didn't ride or bunch up.

I went out and got a haircut for the first time in ages. A fresh haircut always feels so good. 

Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself. 

***Chickie's Year End Review-I like this striped shirt so much. I still wear it with the overalls. If it works, don't mess with it.

Lots Of Florals

 Hello Readers. How are things in your neck of the woods? Is there any good news to report? If so let me know in the comments. Today's post is about a lot of florals. At least it felt like a lot of florals to me. They were all over.

 

 This dress was great I love a good floral design but I felt a little over-whelmed by all these flowers. I thought about making it short sleeved. I did that and than I thought, "Do I even need a dress?" I kept going. I couldn't stop!

 

 I decided to make a top. It was less over-whelming as a top. The flowers were so pretty. It made a pretty shirt. I liked the pattern a lot more when there was less of it.

 

 I also thought the top would go with these shorts that were passed on to me recently. These shorts were a great shade of dusty purple.

 

 These shorts fit everywhere except the waist. The waistband gaped open in the back. I hate that. It happens with jeans a lot too. I usually make tucks in the back of the pants but I decided to try a different method to make the waist smaller. I didn't want to loose any room in the backside. 

 

 I made an opening in the waistband. I inserted 1 inch elastic into the waistband. I wanted to make an elastic waistband but only along the back of the shorts. 

 

  I used a zigzag stitch to close the openings and hold the elastic in place. This elastic will improve the fit and be very comfortable. You can see how the elastic pulled the waistband in a little. It still has lot of stretch.  I need room in the waistband for my Corona snacks. (Am I the only one who needs to stop all the extra snacking?)

 My outfit was done and I went for a walk. It is not very exciting but my dog and my youngest child needed to burn some energy off.

 

 Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself.